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How can I add my own merge fields?

Merge fields are applied to a Mailing from the Templates tab of the Mailngs window. We’ve provided over 20 merge fields for you to choose from, but you may wish to add additional merge fields as you add your own fields to the database.

You can add merge fields from any of 4 tables: Contacts, Appointments, Projects, or Invoices.

New merge fields need to be added in 3 places:

1. The Button Label. You’ll find one of our <<unused>> buttons and, in layout mode, replace the text “<<unused>>” form the button label with your own text. In this example, let’s pretend you added a “Middle Name” field to the contacts table. So your button label would read “<<Middle Name>>”.

2. The Button’s Script Parameter. The actual button for the merge field calls the script “Select Merge Field ( Name )” with a script parameter prefaced with “Name = Unused”. Replace “Unused” with your merge field’s name leaving “Name = “ in place. In our example your new script parameter would look like “Name = Middle Name”. Note that the name in steps 1 and 2 does not have to be the actual name of the field in question.

3. To translate this merge field into actual data, we use an Auto Enter calc in the Mailing Members table: the last step in adding your own merge field is editing this calc. Enter Define Database and select the fields from the Mailing Members table. Double click on the field “z_MMemberMessageMergedCalc” and click “Specify” next to its Auto Enter Calculated Value option. This calc is really just a series of substitutions and you’ll add a new line representing the new substitution you’d like to make. The easiest way to do this is to copy any existing line from the section you’re interested in. In our example we’re working with a Contact field so I might copy the “Last Name” substitution line and then paste it back in beneath itself. I’d then edit this line to reflect the Middle Name substitution in our example, so our new line would be...

[ "<<Middle Name>>" ; MailingMemberContact::ContactNameMiddle] ;

...if ContactNameMiddle were the name of my new field in the contact table.

That’s it.

Why aren’t my merge fields working?

One common reason why a merge field might not be displaying any information in your letter is that the merge field may be “out of context”. For example, if you send a merge letter to a found set of appointments, you can use appointment fields like “Appointment Start Time” as well as contact fields like “First Name”. However, if you send a mailing to a found set of contacts, the mailing has no context for “Appointment Start Time” and won’t return anything in that case.